NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Trump tells Congress hostilities in Iran ‘have terminated’ as war powers deadline hits: Trump’s claim came on what would have been a deadline under the War Powers Resolution of 1973 for him to ask Congress to declare war against Iran or authorize the use of military force against that country. Despite his claim, the blockade continues and Pakistani mediators are still trying to broker a deal to end the stalemate and open the Strait of Hormuz. The United States has warned that any shippers paying tolls or other fees to Iran for passage through the Strait of Hormuz risk being sanctioned. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has called the ongoing siege on the country’s ports “intolerable”. CNBC AL JAZEERA

The Supreme Court hollows out a landmark law that had protected minority voting rights for 6 decades: On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court knocked out a major pillar of the law that had protected against racial discrimination in voting and representation. It was a decision that came more than a decade after the court undermined another key tenet of the law and led to restrictive voting laws in a number of states. Tennessee and Alabama take steps to redraw House maps in wake of Supreme Court ruling. The Republican governor of Louisiana has called a halt to an ongoing primary to see how to take advantage of this ruling. AP POLITICO CBS

Hegseth orders 5,000 US troops to withdraw from Germany: Nato is seeking to “understand the details” of a US decision to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany, a redeployment ordered by Donald Trump in the midst of a feud with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz. The German government sought to play down the severity of Trump’s move, describing it as “anticipated”, and a reminder of Europe’s need to invest in its own defence. THE GUARDIAN

White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting: On the evening of April 25, 2026, gunshots were fired near the main security screening area for the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C. President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and members of the Cabinet were evacuated by the Secret Service. It was the first White House Correspondents' Dinner that Trump had attended as a sitting president. Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old from Torrance, California, the suspect, worked part-time as a teacher and also developed video games. WIKIPEDIA, CNN

Trump Loses Ground on Several Personal Traits as Approval Rating Slips: Americans’ assessments of President Donald Trump have declined steadily over the last several months. His job approval rating now stands at 34% – the lowest mark of his second term. He has also lost ground across a variety of personal attributes and issue areas. One of the steepest declines has been in the share of Americans who say Trump “keeps his promises. More details in article. PEW RESEARCH

WORST ADMINISTRATION EVER?

Trump flexes executive power with unprecedented flouting of lower court rulings: The failure of Trump officials to follow court orders has been highlighted most notably in individual immigration cases. But a review of hundreds of pages of court records by The Associated Press also shows an extraordinary record of violations in lawsuits over policy changes and other moves. AP

Trump’s DEI purge reaches farm country? Women picked for soybean board all replaced by men: The Trump administration rejected all four women farmers chosen by their peers to represent them in an industry group called the United Soybean Board earlier this year, a rare intervention by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that three of the women suspected was linked to their gender. REUTERS

Pentagon asks Congress to codify ‘Department of War’ with $52 million price tag: The Pentagon has asked Congress to codify its “Department of War” renaming, saying it will cost nearly $52 million to complete and will not have a “significant impact” on President Trump’s fiscal 2027 defense budget request. THE HILL

FEMA aims to rehire disaster-response employees it fired months ago: The agency is planning to bring back most of the staffers from the Cadre of On-Call Response and Recovery , FEMA’s largest workforce, who were suddenly terminated this past winter as part of then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem’s plans to cut the agency by 50%. These employees are among the first on the ground after a disaster and often stick around for years to help communities recover. SPOKESMAN REVIEW

Medicare portal database exposed US health providers' Social Security numbers: The ​Post reported that the ⁠database was used to ​populate a directory ​created last year by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid ​Services to help ​seniors search for doctors.. REUTERS

Trump administration to pay 2 more companies to walk away from US offshore wind leases: The Trump administration announced two more payouts Monday for energy companies to walk away from U.S. offshore wind projects under development. Bluepoint Wind and Golden State Wind have agreed to end their offshore wind leases in exchange for reimbursements totaling nearly $900 million. Both companies have decided not to pursue any new offshore wind projects in the United States. AP

DESI NEWS

Longtime Texas court interpreter Meenu Batra released from ICE custody: Meenu Batra, who has lived in the U.S. for about 35 years and has a "withholding of removal" order that prevents her from being deported to her home country of India due to fear of persecution, was arrested by authorities on March 17 at Texas' Valley International Airport while on her way to Milwaukee for a work trip. She was held at the nearby El Valle Detention Facility in Raymondville, where she told ABC News in a phone interview that she felt "humiliated and treated like a criminal." ABC

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND SAFETY

“A Huge Setback”: New EPA Directive Could Weaken Hundreds of Chemical Regulations: For decades, a small EPA program assessed toxic chemicals. In an internal memo obtained by ProPublica, a top Trump appointee sharply criticized the program’s work and directed agency offices to review regulations that relied on its assessments. PRO PUBLICA

Court restricts abortion access across the US by blocking the mailing of mifepristone: A federal appeals court has restricted access to one of the most common means of abortion in the U.S. by blocking the mailing of mifepristone. Since the Supreme Court's 2022 ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed enforcement of abortion bans, prescriptions by mail has become a major way that abortions are provided — including to states where bans are in place. The decision sets up a likely appeal to the Supreme Court. NPR

CORRUPTION ALERT

Trump Family-Backed Drone Firm Signs Weapons Deal With US: The Trump family is officially set to cash in on the president’s war on Iran by selling drones to the Air Force. Donald Trump’s elder sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, joined the board of drone-maker Powerus after a golf club company they backed merged with it in March to take it public. Powerus, based in West Palm Beach, the home of Trump International Golf Club, now stands to gain from its links to the first family. DAILY BEAST

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